This is part 2 of our series on influencer marketing, you can read the first article here. Now that you know what you can do, it is time to know the things that you should avoid.

Don’t Ask for a Link Right Away

It’s funny when business owners send one email and expect feedback from an influencer. This has something to do with the structure of influencer outreach software, that just gathers influencer contact information and sends email templates to the influencer. Don’t do that. Asking for a link will not get you anywhere. So, don’t even try. Your email will just be ignored and sent to trash.

Don’t Use Underhand Tactics

I have seen some so-called ‘SEO’ tactics that claim that a particular type of email will generate some feedback from influencers. This has something to do with scanning the site for errors and then emailing the influencer about it. While this used to work, the exposure of such tactics makes it not-so-attractive to today’s influencers. No one wants to feel tricked or used. And your influencers don’t want to feel that way either. So, it may be safer to just steer away from underhanded tactics. This will not win you some influencer links. It will only result with them blacklisting you for life.

Don’t Offer Advice

There are some business owners who are in the background for quite some time. These are the people that know their marketing. In fact, they know it so much that they feel that they can improve the influencer’s website by giving some free advice. However, this just results in refusals. After all, you don’t even need an influencer link if you’re that successful. It is also a sign of arrogance so it may be best to stay away from that.

Don’t Bombard Them with Messages

Another monster that website owners should look out for is impatience. This is when you send one message and expect a reply. Once you don’t get what you want, you send another email. And again and again. While this is a common practice among business owners, it is still important to properly space out these emails so that they don’t appear as spam. Put yourself in the influencer’s shoes. You would hate it if someone sends you multiple emails in daily or hourly intervals, wouldn’t you?

Don’t Require Reviews

I mentioned in my first article that you should send products to your target influencers. However, you should not require them to review your products. Why’s that? Well, that’s because they are more likely to do the review if you don't ask. It’s basic psychology. Asking them is like commanding them to do it. But giving them the leeway means that it is their own decision to give you a review. That feels better so they are more likely to do that.

Don’t Use a Premade Template When Emailing Them

I mentioned that you should get to know the influencer before you send them anything. With this, it doesn’t hurt to create your own personal email to reach out to them. Don’t rely on templates. That will not get you anywhere.

Don’t Control Their Content

There are also some website owners that love to control influencers. They love to create the content that is going to be posted and they like to control the links. For creative influencers, this can be a major turn-off and it will prevent them to work with you again.

Don’t Forget Micro Influencers

Also, don’t limit yourself to the big influencers. The term ‘influencer’ is not only reserved to brand with millions of followers. A particular influencer may have several thousands of followers but he or she is still an influencer. So, don’t forget to reach out to them as well.

Don’t Forget Social Media

There are many ways to reach out to influencers. You should not limit yourself to their email. You can also use their brand’s social channels. So, don’t forget about that.

Don’t Waste Influencer Traffic When It Comes

Lastly, you better be prepared with influencer traffic comes to your website. This is the reason why research is necessary. It is not only to get to know the influencer himself but also get to know his target market. This will let you know if his market is compatible with yours and whether or not you can convert that into sales.

So that’s a list of Dos and Don’ts of influencer marketing. The bottom line is to reach out to build a relationship. Just as you want to build relationships with your customers, you also need to build relationships with people in your industry. Think of it as strategic alliances that can help propel your business to success. It is a mutual relationship that can help their brand and your business.